Major drug-trafficking trial ends with many acquittals

Ljubljana, 5 December - The Slovenian part of an international drug-trafficking case, which included trials in Austria, Greece and Croatia, concluded in November as the Ljubljana District Court pronounced its verdict. Ten of the twelve defendants accused of smuggling drugs to Slovenia and Croatia in 2014, for whom the prosecution demanded more than 100 years in prison total, were acquitted, while only the supposed ringleader, Senad Muhamedagić, and defendant Zvonko Hajšek got prison sentences - six and a half, and five and a half years, respectively. The group were accused of having brought several hundred kilos of cocaine from Brazil to Europe on a yacht. The pair were also fined EUR 6,000 each for organising the purchase and sale of five kilos of cocaine in Slovenia and Croatia. The other defendants were cleared of all charges. As she handed down the sentences, judge Nina Drozdek Draganić was rather critical of the police for failing to provide concrete evidence and explain the roles that some of the persons caught in wire taps had played in the ring or even what they had been talking about.